Thursday, November 29, 2012

Passports With Purpose Round Four

It's mind boggling that it's been three years since the
launch of Passports With Purpose and the first time that I, in collaboration
with Kamoka Pearls, have donated a Tahitian Pearl (or more) to the cause. And
what's amazing is that every year the wonderful folks who organize this
fundraiser seem to come up with even more vital causes and raise significantly
more money.

This year to me is the best yet: clean water. There's not a more
basic need than that. And the location, Haiti, is where this should happen.
With donations towards the unusually special array of blogger prizes (tours, gift vouchers for flights and hotels and even a ukulele) PWP hopes to
raise $100,000 this year and proceeds will go to Water.org to dig wells for
clean water in Haiti.

I have never been to Haiti (I lived in Tahiti for 15 years
and I cannot count the times that people have mixed the two up and asked me
about the earthquake) but I'm fortunate to have a colleague Paul Clammer
(@paulclammer you should all follow him) who wrote the Haiti guidebook for
Lonely Planet and has more recently written a very comprehensive Haiti guide
with Bradt publishing. Through Paul's tweets and Facebook I've followed photos,
stories and snippets that have made it clear how desperate things are over
there.

Throughout my travels I've met heaps of aid workers and
villagers who have things to say about aid workers and I've never heard more
glowing reports than of a Peace Corps volunteer in Vanua Levu, Fiji who almost
single-handedly brought clean water to a remote corner of the island. The
villagers told me that within the first year they noticeably saw their children
become, bigger, healthier and more thriving. I can't imagine how it would be to
raise a family while constantly getting parasites or worse, and hoping that
whatever came along wouldn't be strong enough to kill. Eradicating that fear
and seeing the whole community thrive has got to be the biggest game changer
there is.

So there it is. In hopes of helping this year's drive reach
it's goals (I have no doubt it will so let's go for way past those goals) my
husband Josh at Kamoka Pearls and I have donated a truly spectacular pearl.
It's dark and bright with a liquid-y, deep orient that makes you want to touch
it, hold it and wear it against your skin. It's mostly green with hues of
purple and pink. We decided to mount this pearl with a very simple loop to show
off how gorgeous it is, in no need of extra fanfare. If this were in our online
shop we'd price it at $430. It's a gem.

So go over to Passports With Purpose and donate! We always
donate too and last year we won a fabulous wine tour of the Walla Walla area of
Washington State. Not bad for a donation that felt good anyway!

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What is Coconut Radio?

In French Polynesia when gossip is passed along from person to person we call it the coconut radio. This blog aims more for the truth in the form of vignettes, stories, recipes and insights from my experiences living on a tropical island and traveling as a Lonely Planet author.

About Me

I recently moved to Portland, OR after 15 years in French Polynesia. Even though I'm technically a continent dweller now, I still make it back to the islands regularly as well as to a handfull of other exotic destinations that I cover for Lonely Planet. My travel articles have crossed the seas to appear in newspapers and magazines including Gadling, Islands Magazine and Travelers’ Tales anthologies. For more information about me please go to www.celestebrash.com.